12 Facts About Markos Vamvakaris

Markos Vamvakaris is universally referred to by rebetiko writers and fans simply by his first name, Markos.

Markos Vamvakaris was born on 10 May 1905 in Ano Syros, Syros, Greece.

Markos Vamvakaris was the first of six children, while his family belonged to the sizeable Roman Catholic community of the island, the "Francosyrians", a name deriving from the colloquial Greek reference to West Europeans collectively as "the Franks".

At the age of twelve, in the false belief that he was wanted by the police, Markos Vamvakaris fled Syros for the port of Piraeus.

Markos Vamvakaris worked as a stevedore, a pit-coal miner, a shoe-polisher, a paperboy, a butcher, and other odd jobs.

Markos Vamvakaris heard a bouzouki player playing, and vowed that if he did not learn to play the instrument in six months he would chop off his own hand with a cleaver.

Markos Vamvakaris learned bouzouki, becoming an innovative virtuoso player, and began to write songs of his own.

Markos Vamvakaris recorded his first rebetiko disc, Na'rchosouna re magka mou in 1932.

Markos Vamvakaris died on 8 February 1972 at the age of 66.

Markos Vamvakaris' composing style was utterly simple: minimal orchestration, melodic lines stripped of any embellishment, and lyrics as devoid of ornamentation as possible.

Markos Vamvakaris's strophic masterpiece "Your eyelashes shine" is a typical example of his art.

Markos Vamvakaris had three sons: Vasilis, Stelios and Dominikos.